Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Singh unveiled a sugarcane price hike to ₹ 416 per quintal for the upcoming crushing season, solidifying Punjab’s status as the highest sugarcane–paying state in the country.
The announcement was made after the Chief Minister inaugurated the New Sugar Mill and Co-Generation Plant at Dinanagar on Wednesday, a major improvement in the cooperative and agro-industrial sectors.
Stressing the point that sugarcane is a robust alternative crop that aligns with Punjab’s push for diversification, Mann urged the Union Government to acknowledge sugarcane as a practical replacement for water-intensive crops.
CM Mann reminds that the Cooperative Sugar Mill at Gurdaspur was established in 1980 and further upgraded in 1987, long supported area farmers, but has become insufficient compared to the region’s growing production.
With nearly 80 lakh quintals of sugarcane produced against the mill’s earlier processing limit of 25 lakh quintals, capacity expansion was essential. Hence, the newly developed mill now has a capacity of 5,000 TCD, promising timely productivity and improved outcomes. This will enhance sugar quality and processing timings, generate employment, and create sustainable revenue.
A 28.5 MW Co-Generation Power Plant has also become operational, with 20 MW set to be supplied to PSPCL. The project is projected to earn around ₹20 crore each year, giving a substantial boost to the mill’s financial stability.
Meanwhile, the number of farmers delivering sugarcane to the mill is expected to increase from 2,850 to nearly 7,025, easing their reliance on private mills. Additionally, he addressed all the questions that were asked on public demand; he announced a medical college in the region, a government college for Women in Tarn Taran, and a new Railway Over bridge at Jandiala Guru to ease traffic congestion.
